Don't let Tsarnaev hide behind his citizenship

So it begins. Now that one of the Boston Marathon bombers is a "martyr" and the other in custody, the real Marathon known as the American Judicial Process is underway. Select details of the lives of the brothers Tsarnaev -Tamarlan and Dzokhar - are drizzling into the public light, as though his lawyers are toeing the bath water.

To make their sob story short, both of the brothers were allowed into the United States along with their father in 2002 under a petition of political asylum. It seems that the father, who eventually returned to Russia (perhaps leaving instructions?), was living in fear for his life, and presumably those of his sons, because of his "activities" in Chechnya. You're welcome, boys.

After five years residence, the brothers applied for American citizenship. Tamarlan's application was held up by Homeland Security over concerns that he'd been interviewed by the FBI in 2011 in regard to an incident of domestic abuse. He apparently hit his girlfriend, but was not convicted. Furthermore, the interview took place at the request of the Russian government, which intimated that Tamarlan had ties to Chechen terrorists.

It's worth noting that, because he was interviewed on American soil, and by the FBI rather than in Russia, by the Russian secret police operating under whatever name the KGB goes by these days, Tamarlan was not thrown into the gulag, never to be heard from again. That's not our style. You're welcome for that too, Tamarlan.

Dzokhar, perhaps ironically, became an American citizen on September 11, 2012, the same day that four Americans, including a U.S. Ambassador, lost their lives in a terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. After living in the United States for more than a decade under American protection, Dzokhar Tsarnaev was on that day granted his request to become one of us. Glad to have you. No need to thank us, and not to worry. Your brother will likely be accepted as well just as soon as we clear up a few "discrepancies." We'll be glad to have him too. What was that you said, Dzokhar? Shove what? Where?

So, despite all that America had done for them, as for instance, probably saving their lives, the brothers set off two bombs, killing three, including an 8-year old boy, and wounding up to another 183 of their American benefactors. Then, for good measure, they car-jacked an SUV, and engaged Boston police officers in a running gunfight, throwing whatever explosives at them that maybe they hadn't had opportunity enough to detonate at the Marathon.

Tamarlan was "martyred" in the shootout. Dzokhar, badly wounded, somehow managed to elude immediate capture, but was found a few hours later hiding in a boat and taken into custody. Word soon leaked that the "suspect" would not be read his Miranda Rights, which has the ACLU all in a tizzy.

"It was a different Tamarlan," Mr. Tsarni went on, relating a phone conversation that the two had in 2009, "seeing no purpose in life but pursue path of God...some kind of jihad." He thinks that Tamarlan "involved" Dzokhar, referring to the younger brother as "just another victim."

Bingo! Somebody was bound to say it, so here we go again. Another "helpless victim" with no mind, no tongue, no will of his own. He's only a 19 year old child, after all.

Tom Brokaw, for one, is ready to buy the argument. He'd be a character witness for Dzokhar in a heartbeat because the two Muslims involved may have felt "alienated." Isn't that tough? It's possible that they may have been "angry" over U.S. drone strikes on "innocent" Muslim civilians. Fair enough, but why not just leave? Bloviating on "Meet the Press" to host Dick Gregory, Mr. Brokaw lamented that, "With the death of Osama bin Laden, Islamic rage did not go away." How very profound. What insight he has.

"We have to work a lot harder (to understand) a motivation here...we have to look at the roots of all of this," Mr. Brokaw said. Actually, no. We don't, and the author of "The Greatest Generation" ought to know their lesson a lot better than it appears he does. That generation didn't "look at the roots" to understand a "motivation" for what caused World War II. They had no time for that. Nor do we.

The Greatest Generation understood that the enemy was out to destroy every American, regardless of faith, color, political party, or creed. They wanted to destroy their American way of life, and their Freedom. That was enough for them, and they took necessary and decisive action. They did what they knew had to be done, focusing on one goal at a time, first annhilating their Nazi and Imperialist Japanese foes on each of their fronts. They stayed single-mindedly on course, never deviating from it until it was run.

Then, they helped their former enemies to rebuild. Only after the enemy were soundly beaten, did they set about "winning the hearts and minds" of the dazed survivors. Put simply, the Greatest Generation first won the peace, regardless of the cost in lives and treasure, because they understood that life without freedom is slavery. After achieving victory, they talked about the "whys." That's how they won alliances with their former enemies that are still strong today. That's why they were "The Greatest Generation."

Furthermore, they knew that American citizenship is a privelege, not an entitlement. They would tell us that, if ever there was an argument for securing our borders, and against the extension of amnesty to between 11-20 million illegal immigrants, the Tsarnaev brothers are it. Unlike those 11-20 million illegals, we knew who these guys were, or at least we thought so. We've been aware of their presence from the moment that their father was granted asylum. We knew where they were, what they did, and how to contact them. Still, we couldn't stop them. This is the enemy we face today.

It isn't that 11-20 million illegal immigrants sneaked across the border intent on wreaking the same kind of mayhem that the Boston Marathon bombers did. But it's more than reasonable to assume that there are a few terrorists just like them or even worse, harboring the same kind of malevolent intentions, hiding amongst those 11-20 million. How many more like the Tsarnaevs are slipping across the border in the time that it takes to read this?

Dzokhar Tsarnaev threw away his American privelege, and is in no way "just another victim." He is a terrorist, and a traitor to his adopted country, deserving of no rights intrinsic to that privelege. It's just as conceivable that he carried out the mission he'd been training for all his life as any other mischief that the brothers dreamed up on the spur of the moment. His citizenship ought to be revoked, along with every right that he enjoys as an American citizen. The unfortunate truth is that the terrorist will be able to hide behind those rights when he comes to trial.

That's the way it is, and the way it's going to be. Fine. Let's first give Dzokhar Tsarnaev a first class trial, and follow it up with a first class hanging.

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John Stratemeyer is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and a graduate of Towson State University, where he majored in History. After college, John acted for several years in local theatre groups before moving on to study Kenpo Karate, in which he achieved the rank of 1st degree black belt. John is a Conservative Reagan Republican. He is also an avid fan of the Baltimore Ravens and the Orioles.